what are the "tested-and-approved" reinforcements I should make to the Easy Star before I get it airborne?

I seem to recall reading one suggestion - a "barrel wrap" with fiberglass strapping tape.... To me, the term barrel wrap implies a spiral from the nose rearward - yes/no?

A list of modifications and reinforcements i have found, remebered and used:
Mods:

Canopy mod with tongue and velcro or magnet

Reverse rudder clevis and tyrap on fin

Reinforcements

Reinforced tape from tail over belley and nose

Barrelwrap nose section

Barrelwrap motorpod and wingsection

Tape frontside of wings

Put tape on ground touchingsection at wings

Put reinforced tape on wing at the bottom from start to wingtip

That's about it and by no means garantuee you wouldn't have any damage and need elaporsoup

Do not, I repeat DO NOT, interconnect the wings. The wings are designed to releasy from the fuse on highspeed impacts. Connecting the wings either bij tape, velcro or magnets makes the wings more vulnerable !!!
Keep this modification at hand for a later stage.

What sort of time are you guys getting on 1050 mah 8 cell packs and the stock motor when flying as a glider (climb glide as long as you can, climb, glide, repeat)?
HH

8 cells 1050 mAh is about 10 Watts. I use 7 cells 1300mAh which is 9.4 Watts.
With this 7 cells and no thermal activity and climbing at 3/4 power maximum I use 2 packs in about 90 minutes. So that makes about 3 quarters of an hour per pack. 8x1050 should be about the same or a bit more, I guess

what are the "tested-and-approved" reinforcements I should make to the Easy Star before I get it airborne?

I seem to recall reading one suggestion - a "barrel wrap" with fiberglass strapping tape.... To me, the term barrel wrap implies a spiral from the nose rearward - yes/no?

Yes - since this is your first RC airplane, and you will likely hit hard a few times, barrel wrapping the nose is a good idea. 3M Extreme packing tape is a good choice.

Next is reinforcing the wings. A line of strapping tape along the bottom or better yet is to CA a strip of carbon tape to the bottom. This will greatly stiffen the wings during those inevitable inadvertant high-g maneuvers that occur while learning.

Those two are my top priority strengthening mods. I also like to stiffen the horizontal stabilizer with carbon tape as the stock setup was prone to flutter during dives.

What sort of time are you guys getting on 1050 mah 8 cell packs and the stock motor when flying as a glider (climb glide as long as you can, climb, glide, repeat)? HH

HH, I use 7 cell 1050's and considering that they are 1050's there isn't going to be a whole lot of difference between the 8 cell and 7 cell packs. My best flight so far was nearly 50 minutes, using some thermals. My average is probably somewhere around 20 minutes. I'm a glider pilot at heart, so I use every bit of lift I can possibly find and I hunt for it constantly if I'm not already going UPPPPPP!!!
Oh.. and I might as well confess... my SHORTEST time was around 6 seconds. DON'T forget to charge your batteries. They might have some residual power left in them and fool you at launch time!!
Mike

Yes - since this is your first RC airplane, and you will likely hit hard a few times, barrel wrapping the nose is a good idea. 3M Extreme packing tape is a good choice.

Next is reinforcing the wings. A line of strapping tape along the bottom or better yet is to CA a strip of carbon tape to the bottom. This will greatly stiffen the wings during those inevitable inadvertant high-g maneuvers that occur while learning.

Those two are my top priority strengthening mods. I also like to stiffen the horizontal stabilizer with carbon tape as the stock setup was prone to flutter during dives.

Where can one get carbon fiber tape and how is it applied to the surfaces? Do you just smooth it out and ca it onto the surface? Can it be cut with scissors? A short tutorial please?

HH, I use 7 cell 1050's and considering that they are 1050's there isn't going to be a whole lot of difference between the 8 cell and 7 cell packs. My best flight so far was nearly 50 minutes, using some thermals. My average is probably somewhere around 20 minutes. I'm a glider pilot at heart, so I use every bit of lift I can possibly find and I hunt for it constantly if I'm not already going UPPPPPP!!!
Oh.. and I might as well confess... my SHORTEST time was around 6 seconds. DON'T forget to charge your batteries. They might have some residual power left in them and fool you at launch time!!
Mike

8 cells 1050 mAh is about 10 Watts. I use 7 cells 1300mAh which is 9.4 Watts.
With this 7 cells and no thermal activity and climbing at 3/4 power maximum I use 2 packs in about 90 minutes. So that makes about 3 quarters of an hour per pack. 8x1050 should be about the same or a bit more, I guess

R/C gliders, about 11 months now.. A GentleLady... electric (EZ* was my first if you don't count the Aspire EP I crashed and trashed on its maiden) about 5 months. Full scale gliders... I've been flying since '84 and have been staring at the sky/clouds for years both before and since learning to fly! There have been many hours spent learning the how/why/when/where of thermal activity!!
Mike

I took my brand-new ES out for the first time tonight. Had a MUCH better time with it than my previous (very first) plane, the SlowStick.

My very first flight lasted several minutes and I even glid (glided?) it back in for a smooth landing. I was very impressed with the docile qualities of this plane!!!

Mine did have a tendancy to turn right which trim would not really fix - I think my rudder is a tad slanted and not entirely vertical. That's one thing to adjust.

I did coat the nose and tail section with the thinned goop which seemed to help a bit with protection on the couple rough landings I had. I'm not sure I'd do it again as it did react very slightly with the Elapor, but not detrimental.

I plan to make a rudder out of balsa (and an elevator probably) and hinge them on for better flexibility.

Anyway, I will be recommending the ES over the fragile SS to every n00b I talk to - a far better choice, at least in my experience! Thanks for all the help from everyone who posts in these enormous threads!

R/C gliders, about 11 months now.. A GentleLady... electric (EZ* was my first if you don't count the Aspire EP I crashed and trashed on its maiden) about 5 months. Full scale gliders... I've been flying since '84 and have been staring at the sky/clouds for years both before and since learning to fly! There have been many hours spent learning the how/why/when/where of thermal activity!!
Mike